Make Your Dialogue Audio Sound AWESOME In Final Cut Pro | FCP Tutorial

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We've heard it a hundred times - good audio ruins great videos. So how do I enhance my dialogue audio for my KZbin vids using Final Cut Pro? Well, a lot of what I do is in how I record my audio, but I still like to clean things up with a Compressor and Limiter. Check out this vid to get the specifics on my audio post-production workflow.
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CHAPTERS:
00:00 - Opening
00:23 - Intro
01:06 - Audio Elements Breakdown
03:11 - Custom Dialogue Audio Effect
05:08 - Settings For My Dialogue Audio Effect
08:29 - Not All Mics Are The Same
09:21 - Dialogue Audio Levels
10:45 - Creating A Good Environment For Sound
11:57 - Closing Thoughts
12:52 - Outro
13:08 - End Cards
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[@matthewTobrien]

The dialogue audio vid you all asked for! What's your process like? Pointers for me? Anybody else love their Rode shotgun mics? Let me know!

[@bwilesuk]

Thanks for sharing. I also use an EQ to boost its ‘speaking voice’ or ‘voiceover’ presets

[@matthewTobrien]

Niiiiiice. I’ll take a listen to that on the next edit. Thanks for watching and commenting, Ben!

[@bwilesuk]

@@matthewTobrien Always my pleasure

[@NordtechMedia]

Your sound are pretty solid! But what would change your life for audio editing in finalcut is the plugin ! levelmatic from fxfactory! Cant belive how fast it is.

[@matthewTobrien]

I love a good plug-in recommendation! I will check it out!

[@mitchlazorko]

I think I can add to this conversation a bit! My background is in music production, so editing audio has always been fun. I would also recommend placing an EQ before the compressor. On the EQ, rolling off everything below 50hz (the low end) can help to get rid of any rumble or low room noise. Also, it can help sometimes to have a small boost in the midrange depending on the speaker. Grab a node and boost it about 5db, sweep it between 500hz and 2kz while the audio is playing to see if it helps your dialogue sit in the mic better. With compressor settings, the threshold control is going to control at what point it starts to kick in. A good starting point is to start your threshold at 0db and then slowly roll it down until you see that analog needle kicking up to around 5db.

[@matthewTobrien]

Whoa! Mitch dropping some legit audio wisdom in the comments! Love this and will definitely give it a try on my next vid. This is the kinda help I’m talking about. I look at an EQ thingy and go, “Uh, I have no idea what to do.” Can’t wait to try it out!

[@KungfuKhronicles]

@@matthewTobrien Yes agreed as someone who works with audio ..eq'n voices will help tremendously, especially if your vo's are on the deeper end. Between that and the compression, it will really help in the final mix so your vocals pop over any music or sfx that you may use in your final video productions. Thanks for this video! it's a great reminder that FXPX has it's own set of plug ins and people don't necessarily have to use additional software to massage their vocals before layin into their edit. 👍🏾🙌🏾

[@matthewTobrien]

Nice! Def gonna look at more EQ tweaks to get it sounding even a little bit better. Not a terribly sophisticated workflow on my part, but if you start with good recording conditions and decent gear, you’re more than halfway there!

[@dglatz01]

Do you think the “low cut filter” preset on FCP is worth using, or would you adjust the EQ manually? Not sure whether there is any difference. Thanks!

[@mitchlazorko]

@@dglatz01 you could definitely try it and see if it helps. Some microphones have a built in low cut switch on them that cut anything below 50, 60, or 100hz. Keep in mind that when you’re mixing audio, if you’re using laptop or generic computer speakers, those lower frequencies may not be as audible as they would be if you were using studio monitors.

[@dglatz01]

Excellent video - tackling audio = giving the people what they want (per your poll) and a bold choice. This is the single hardest thing we deal with in our videos. Mainly because we are mixing VO, sound effects/ambient sounds (mostly Foley/sound effects) and music for our wildlife and nature videos. Damn it’s hard. I took a class on “audio for filmmakers,” by a pro sound guy. Class was spendy but fantastic. Learned so much. His advice was (1) build everything around the VO - if you can’t hear that well, you ruined it and (2) average levels 12-18dB, peaking at 6dB. Your audio sounds great. I’ve played around a lot and generally try not to overdo software changes - they can make the voice sound unnatural. Your compressor/limiter combo is interesting. I think the compressor also tends to increase overall volume (maybe that effect is offset by the limiter). Anyway, thanks for this. Your advice about pre-amps is also solid - Canon cinema line pre-amps are pretty good. If venture too far away from something like that, you should probably be using something like Zoom H6 as an audio interface.

[@matthewTobrien]

Excellent points, David. And I agree - sound is key. Sounds like that class taught you a lot - I definitely learned a lot about audio and post-production audio at film school at Florida State. Just finished a short documentary with a TON of sound design editing around a voice over and was always making sure it didn't compete with the vocals. And yes, the compressor does lift the volume overall of my audio, but it helps bring up the moments where I'm speaking more softly. Of course I adjust by either dropping overall volume or by key framing moments that are too loud or too quiet. But yes, the limiter definitely helps with that too. Probably not the perfect post-workflow for dialogue audio, but I think it gets the job done for my rather simple KZbin content. Thanks so much for watching and dropping such a thoughtful comment!

[@englishwithmaria]

Matthew, for those wanting to improve their sound in a simple but effective way: you can bring in a few pillows and/or cushions to your recording room and place them near you, but out of the camera view. It works wonders. I learned that when I was recording my first podcast episodes, and I've never forgotten it.

[@matthewTobrien]

Such great advice and I've definitely used moving blankets to dampen reverb plenty of times!

[@Brad_West]

Great video Matthew! Super simple but super effective! 😀👌

[@matthewTobrien]

Thanks! Appreciate you tuning in!

[@JamesKerLindsay]

An excellent video. Thanks. It is so hard getting the audio right. But it’s certainly worth taking a bit of time to experiment and get a sound preset if you’re using the same room set up each time. It can make such a difference.

[@matthewTobrien]

Now I just need to work on getting everyone out of the house while I'm recording so I'm not picking up footsteps from upstairs... 🤣 Thanks for watching and commenting, James!

[@jimbo4723]

Fantastic. So love your videos. Thank you.

[@matthewTobrien]

You’re welcome! Thanks for watching!

[@msnspy]

Am a simple guy i see you post i thumbs up

[@matthewTobrien]

Well I appreciate it! 👍🏻

[@j3054]

I love your honesty. Thanks!

[@matthewTobrien]

We're not "pros" at every aspect of post-production, that's for sure. Color correction (next to sound mixing) is my weakest post-production skill.

[@sjeditor]

Very awesome video as always. Audio still seems very foreign to me but have learned a ton in last few months. Just recently learned how to use eq and that, layered in with compressors really is a game changer.

[@matthewTobrien]

It makes already pretty good audio from a good mic sound AMAZING. Glad you’re learning how to enhance audio!

[@leenavasankari2585]

Thank you. It was very helpful. Leena

[@matthewTobrien]

You're welcome, Leena!

[@sssssssdsed]

The sound is very good when applied like this. But the noise got really bad. What should I do?

[@mediafactoryinternational]

Hey Matthew your audio sounds GREAT! I have a question... I shot an interview with 2 people and they had a lab on them plus we had a boom - if I was to add and clean up sound using compressor and other tools - should I do it on individual audio tracks or together? I see my main audio in Final cut as LAV1,LAV2,LAV3and NTG3 - Four Mono - On adding any audio effect, it gives me the option of adding to individual or as Dialogue... Please suggest. THANKS

[@matthewTobrien]

I personally would apply effects to each sound source individually. Every mic has different characteristics - especially a cardioid shotgun mic vs an omni-directional lav mic. I'd apply a Compressor, Limiter, Expander, and ChannelEQ (where I sweep the frequencies to remove any anomalies) to each mic and then do a rough mix for my edit and then a final mix for what I'm delivering (I usually do sound turnover to a pro sound mixer for paid client work).

[@mediafactoryinternational]

@@matthewTobrien Super KIND of you. THANK you so much :)

[@mediafactoryinternational]

@@matthewTobrien Hey Matthew, I tried adding effects to all my audio lanes individually - sounds 'too much' - we had 3 lavs and a boom - so adding Compressor, Channel EQ, Limiter and Noise gate on each track - Please suggest if I should still go on all individual tracks or just on the overall dialogue? Thanks again

[@avigulwadi]

Hi Matthew...great video and very timely thank you. I'm just a beginner with all this sound design...I've just started using the Rode videomic NTG and the Rode wireless go! Hopefully this will help me up my sound quality. Also, I have the fan noise from a SL60W that is quite loud. Great if you can give some guidance on reducing this noise. Thanks

[@matthewTobrien]

Ooof. Fan noise is never fun. If it were me, I’d try to rig up some kind of apparatus near the light to cut down that sound. Put a foam panel next to it or a sound blanket - don’t block airflow but cut the path the sound makes to your microphone. Much easier than trying to remove the noise in post. And honestly I don’t know what I’d do to remove it. I’d try some built-in noise reduction effects or I’d mess with the EQ until I found the frequency. And hope doing so wouldn’t alter my voice too much.

[@avigulwadi]

@@matthewTobrien thanks Matt. I’ve been trying a few things. The other thing I’m trying is to have some background music so that does help! Keep those videos coming. Love it 🙏🏼

[@matthewTobrien]

You know I will! 👍🏻

[@avigulwadi]

@@matthewTobrien thanks Matt! Forgot to mention that I did test switching from the RODE videomic Ntg to the wireless go and it reduced the light noise but have a different challenge with a different hum! First world problems I know 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@djepodjepo]

Are actually reducing every breath you take!? Wow…

[@matthewTobrien]

Not quite _every_ breath, but all of the louder ones. I do it so much that I’ve gotten pretty dang fast with it.

[@djepodjepo]

@@matthewTobrien breathtaking response, thx

[@matthewTobrien]

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻🤣

[@vapeurdepisse]

Dude if you're gonna do a tutorial about audio, you kinda should know about audio...

[@matthewTobrien]

Great tip. Thanks.